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Council Member Dinowitz introduces bill to postpone gas detector mandate
1:03:10
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142 sec
Council Member Eric Dinowitz introduces bill 1281 of 2025, which aims to amend Local Law 157 of 2016 regarding natural gas detectors in residential buildings. The bill proposes to postpone the mandate for gas detectors due to significant implementation challenges.
- The current May 1 deadline for compliance is described as unachievable due to lack of compliant devices and installation difficulties.
- The bill seeks to postpone the mandate until one year after the Department of Buildings confirms sufficient availability of compliant devices.
- Dinowitz argues this will protect New Yorkers from unwarranted fines while ensuring safety remains the primary goal.
Eric Dinowitz
1:03:10
Thank you madam majority leader.
1:03:12
Good afternoon colleagues.
1:03:13
Today I'm introducing bill twelve eighty one of 2025, a bill that addresses really an urgent financial matter facing countless tenants and shareholders, our constituents.
1:03:25
And I'm proud to stand with council members Bottcher and Holden in support of this measure.
1:03:30
This legislation twelve eighty one amends Local Law 157 of 02/2016, which mandates natural gas detectors in hotels and residential buildings.
1:03:41
The Department of Buildings set a compliance deadline of May 1, which is obviously passed, And the intent of local law one fifty seven is sound.
1:03:50
It's to protect residents from gas leaks.
1:03:53
But this May 1 deadline is utterly unachievable.
1:03:57
Yet despite this unachievable deadline, the fines for New Yorkers, our constituents, will begin to mount.
1:04:06
18 of us even outlined some of these obstacles in our April letter to the Department of Buildings Commissioner.
1:04:14
The market lacks compliant devices.
1:04:17
They do not exist.
1:04:19
Our law requires detectors to meet NFPA standard seven fifteen of 2023.
1:04:24
Only one manufacturer has produced a compliant device.
1:04:28
However, this company has faced crippling supply chain issues preventing timely orders.
1:04:33
Worse, the sole compliant device has been massively recalled due to a critical malfunction that prevents it from alerting consumers to gas leaks.
1:04:43
The one otherwise viable option is now off the shelves.
1:04:46
And even if devices were available, compliant installation of plug in models is often impossible in New York City apartments.
1:04:54
They're required to be three to 10 feet horizontally of an appliance and within 12 inches of a ceiling, and most of us don't have outlets near the ceiling.
1:05:02
The consequence is clear, New Yorkers will be unjustly fined for failing to meet a mandate that is quite literally impossible to fill.
1:05:11
This bill, twelve eighty one, simply postpones the mandate requiring alarms one year after the Department of Buildings confirms devices are sufficiently available.
1:05:19
I encourage everyone to join us in co sponsoring this common sense bill, twelve eighty one, to shield New Yorkers from unwarranted fines and to ensure true safety remains our paramount goal.
1:05:30
Thank you madam majority leader.